Renewal
by katekalamity
Summary: Blair comes home and is met with an unexpected surprise visitor.


AU: Lord Marcus and Catherine never happened. Since the Hamptons, Chuck had many opportunities to break Blair and Marcus apart, but never did. He couldn't bring himself to admit to loving her. After 6 months of dating, Blair moved to England to be with him. He proposed and Blair came back to share the news. Chuck could have stopped her, but chose not to. Thought he wasn't good enough for her. Blair has been back in England for the past two months.

The limo door opened, its shiny black surface reflecting the façade of the stately building it was parked in front of. A long, toned leg shod with hundreds of dollars worth of designer pumps stretched out and rested on the pavement. A slim, well-manicured hand reached out and grasped the driver's hand for support as the woman within gracefully pulled herself from the limo. Her lithe frame was dressed in a silk dress, the large, watercolor flower print bright against the cream background. A blue silk headband held her mahogany locks back from her face and large red sunglasses covered most of the top half of her face. Head held high, she pointedly ignored the stares and whispers as she walked confidently to the door. She had just made it to the entrance when the sound of a phone camera snapping a photo caught her ear. Her step and expression faltered for a moment, but in a second she was inside the building, safely ensconced in the scents of the latest perfumes. She walked forward until she was in the very center of the store's ground floor. The bright lights shone down upon her and she stopped with a smile on her face. She closed her eyes and breathed in, inhaling the familiar scent of Bendel's. The smile dropped from her face a second later, however, as her phone lit up and beeped, alerting her to a new text. She paused for a moment before reaching into her purse and pulling it out. She sighed and opened the text.

_Good morning, Upper East Siders. Summer's here, and we're already seeing the first signs of change. Rumor has it our favorite British royals are taking a Caribbean cruise to reign in the warmer weather. Why is it then that our dear old Queen B was spotted this morning walking in to Bendel's? Quick stop on the way down south, B? Or is she being dropped off back in the city like so much royal baggage? And what happened to the engagement ring? You'll know as soon as I do._

_You know you love me._

_Xoxo,_

_Gossip Girl_

Blair scowled and scrolled down, viewing the photo of her entering Bendel's not a scant three minutes ago. Angrily, she deleted the blast from her phone and stuffed it back in her purse. She had hoped she could have at least a few days to be alone and figure out a way to turn this disaster to her advantage. She supposed it was wishful thinking in Gossip Girl country, especially if she was going to be frequenting one of the most popular shopping spots in the UES. But, really, coming home to find that your luggage had not arrived and you had no wardrobe for a week on top of having just been royally dumped was too much, even for Blair. So here she was. She might be depressed, but she still had style and most of her dignity.

Still scowling, she stalked towards the escalators, making her way to the women's department. She snapped her fingers at the first saleswoman she saw and began to pull items from the rack. After she had a fairly large pile weighing down the poor saleswoman's arms, she began to relax and sent her away to procure a dressing area. She took in a deep breath and straightened her shoulders, letting a small smile come back to her face. She felt like Blair Waldorf again, like she hadn't in months, and it felt wonderful. She walked over to the dressing area purposefully, the spring back in her step. After all, this was her kingdom. The saleswoman had arranged every article of clothing around the room and Blair did a quick count as she undressed. There were 22 pieces hanging around the room. Blair smiled and got to work.

After trying on everything, and rejecting more than half of what she had picked out, Blair was upset. Everything either didn't fit, or looked worse than she thought they would, or just didn't feel right. Blair's newly found contentment was quickly vanishing, being replaced with frustration. She grabbed a simple sheath she had decided wasn't too horrendous from the wall and slid it on. She grabbed a belt as she left the dressing area and hurriedly buckled it around her waist, tucking in the tags as she did so. She slid her pumps back on her feet and walked out, determined to find clothes that worked.

She had resorted to grabbing random articles of clothing and thrusting them roughly into the saleswoman's hands when she saw it. The dress was hanging in a display across the room. The material was Tiffany's blue. The thin straps held up the tight bodice, which melded into a full, flowing skirt that hit about mid-thigh. The hem of the skirt was ragged, cut with a razor. It was torn and mended together with scraps of sheer white lace. As she moved closer, Blair saw the deteriorated effect continued throughout the rest of the dress, despite looking perfect from far away. It was elegant and it was ruined. It was Blair. She grabbed the dress in her size and then grabbed a skirt, a shirt, most of the rest of the line. As she grabbed a flowered skirt, she noticed the design name. J Humphrey Designs. She smiled slightly.

"Good going, Little J."

Satisfied, she turned and marched imperially to her dressing area, the saleswoman scurrying behind her. As she was undressing to try on her newest finds, she turned to the small woman.

"I need shoes. Size 6." She turned her back on the woman, dismissing her. She tried on all of the skirts, pants, and tops she had found first, moving hastily through them as she hurried to try on the dress. She slid it slowly up her body, relishing in the super soft feel of it against her skin. She zipped it closed and turned to the mirror. It fit perfectly on her. She smiled slightly and smoothed her hands down the front. It was then that she heard someone behind her.

"Thank God. Did you bring any—" She spun around, expecting to find the saleswoman back with her shoe selection. The last thing she expected was that smirk and those sparkling brown eyes. "Wha— What are you doing here?" She stammered, a hand against her chest as she stared at the last man she ever expected to see again.

"It's good to see you, too, Blair," he smiled. "Though I must admit, I enjoyed it more before you put the dress on." This seemed to snap Blair out of her shock.

"Chuck! What are you doing here?" she demanded, looking furious.

"Gossip Girl blasted your return a few hours ago. Or did you not notice?" He walked farther into the room and picked up a blinking blue phone. "It seems you've missed a lot of messages." Blair stormed over and ripped the phone out of his hand.

"No, Chuck. What are _you_ doing here?" His face wore a mock look of offense.

"Why, Blair. I thought you'd be glad to see me. As glad as I am to see you," he drawled, reaching out a hand to trail lightly down her arm. She shivered involuntarily at his touch and turned away.

"How lovely it is to see you, Chuck." Her voice was flat, as well as her face. "Now I believe you were on your way out?" she asked, looking pointedly at the way he had come in.

"But I've just arrived," he said, making his way to the small settee in the middle of the room and sitting down. "Something I believe we have in common."

"What are you talking about, Bass?" Blair asked, nervously looking around for something to do. The saleswoman reentered then, laden down with shoeboxes. Blair strode to her side and took a pair off the top, setting them down to slip them on.

"I'm talking, Waldorf, about the fact that you're supposed to be in the Caribbean with your _fiancé_." He sneered at the word. Blair swallowed back the lump in her throat.

"Well. That shows how much you know, Bass." She slid off the black heels and reached for a white pair. "Obviously I've come home. Where I'm wanted." She turned to stone then, not moving in case her guard would break with him present. The last thing Blair needed was for Chuck Bass to see her cry.

Chuck nodded to the saleswoman to leave and moved to Blair. He stood behind her for a long moment before slowly reaching out his hand and placing it on her arm.

"You are always wanted here," he said quietly. They stayed still like that for a moment before Blair slowly reached up and placed her hand on his. At her touch, Chuck stepped forward, his body pressing against Blair's. She leaned into him for support as he breathed her in deeply. She shook in his arms.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered. He turned her around, so Blair faced him with tear filled eyes. "Chuck, I'm so… I'm so…" He leaned down and gently touched his lips to hers. A tear finally slipped over the rim of Blair's eye. "I'm so sorry, Chuck. I…" This time his lips were more forceful. She clung to him as they kissed, tears streaming down her face. His hand snaked through her hair and held firm at the base of her skull as the other wrapped around her tiny waist and pulled her tight against him. He finally released her and she buried her head in his shoulder, holding him tightly. She pulled back slightly to look at him. "Chuck…" He placed a finger against her lips.

"Stop trying to apologize for my mistakes," he said softly, wiping a tear from her cheek. She bit her lip and looked up into his warm brown eyes. She nodded slightly. Her downturned mouth still trembled with unshed tears. He leaned down and again kissed her gently. And again. He pulled back before either of them could deepen the kiss. He gently pulled her arms off him and stepped back. He smiled at her reassuringly and stepped back to the curtain separating that dressing area from the others, maintaining eye contact.

"Have Ms. Waldorf's purchases charged to the Bass account. And call for the Bass limo, would you? Ms. Waldorf's can wait for her packages." He walked back to Blair and grabbed her hand, walking with her out of the room.

"Wait. Stop, Chuck, what are you doing? Where are—"

"We need to talk, Blair. But for now, I've got my limo waiting." He smirked at her and drew her closer to him. He leaned down to kiss her right there in the middle of the women's department. When he released her, Blair couldn't speak from shock; nodding her head in amazed agreement instead. He led her through the department store, maddening her all the while with his soft touches, his grazing hands. When they reached the doors, Chuck's limo was already there waiting for them. He pulled her along behind him and spun her around to face him, leaning her against the back of his limo. He smiled as he bent down to press his lips to hers hungrily. Neither of them heard the gasps, or the click of a camera phone. And then he was pulling her into the limo, and their bodies were finally allowed what they had been denied for so long. Neither of them noticed the beep and vibrations of their phones' text alerts.

_Hello, again, Upper East Side. Hope you've been enjoying your day. It sure looks like B has been. Then again, she does have UES royalty back on her arm. That's right. It would seem our favorite power couple B & C are back. Now, whether they're back for good or for just a quick romp in the limo before dinner, that's for me to find out, and you to wonder about._

_You know you love me._

_Xoxo,_

_Gossip Girl_


End file.
